Macleay's water snake

Pseudoferania: false Ferania, after another genus of homalopsid snake.1 - Ogilby, J. D. (1891). Description of a new snake from the Herbert River District. Proceedings of the Linnaean Society New South Wales, series 2, 5:51-52.polylepis: 'many-scaled'. Its common name comes from an old scientific name for this species, Pseudoferania macleayi.

Description

Brownish-black on top. Pale below.

Similar species

Taxonomic notes

Pseudoferania has been resurrected as the genus for this species2 - Murphy, John C. (2011). The nomenclature and systematics of some Australasian Homalopsid snakes (Squamata: Serpentes: Homalopsidae). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 59(2):229-236., as it has been shown that this species is only distantly related to the south-east Asian Enhydris3 - Alfaro etal. (2008). Phylogeny, evolutionary history, and biogeography of Oriental-Australian rear-fanged water snakes (Colubroidea: Homalopsidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 46(2):576-593..

Scale count information

Dorsal scales at midbody

21 to 23

Ventrals

140 to 165 with a divided anal scale

Subcaudals

35 to 50 and are divided

Other scale information

Nasal scales in contact.

Danger rating

Weakly venomous. Small fangs at back of mouth, but large specimens should be treated with caution.
Note: even a bite from a 'virtually harmless' or non-venomous reptile can result in serious complications. Play it safe and don't get bitten by anything.

Notes and disclaimer
This information may not be complete. While all care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information in this page, primary sources should always be consulted for definitive information. Animals have an endearing habit of disobeying the rules, so the information on this page should be interpreted with a degree of flexibility.
The author and site operator accepts no responsibility for any losses or damages incurred through using this web site or the information contained herein. Don't get bitten by anything!
This page may be cited as:
Pseudoferania polylepis at the Australian Reptile Online Database.
Last updated 2017-08-08 22:15:47.
Retrieved from http://arod.com.au/arod/?species=Pseudoferania+polylepis on the 22nd of March, 2019.
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